No matter what's said publicly, Tony Pashos and Tra Thomas know the gravity of the situation.

They've just been around too long to let it adversely affect them.

"You can never have too much protection," Thomas said. "That's the best way to look at it."

But just a couple of months ago, the view regarding Jacksonville's situation at offensive tackle was vastly different. The club signed Thomas in March to a three-year contract to replace chronic underachiever Khalif Barnes as the starter on the left side opposite Pashos. Then one day and two draft picks changed everything.

Whether they directly acknowledge it, Pashos and Thomas could wind up losing their jobs as early as this upcoming season to rookies Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, selected last week by the Jaguars in the first and second rounds of the NFL Draft. The veterans worked with the first-team offense Friday during the morning session of the club's three-day minicamp, while Monroe played second-team left tackle and Britton alternated between tackle and guard on the second team.

"Each and every year I fight to make the team regardless of the scenario, who is there and everything," Pashos said. "Why would I ever say, 'Oh God [these rookies are coming to take my job]?' I'm confident in my abilities. I work my tail off and I listen to my coaches. I can show what I can do. If a young guy's drafted, doesn't that make me better?"

Perhaps that's part of the rationale in turning up the heat along the offensive line. Despite utilizing five combinations of starters (mainly due to injuries at guard and center) along the line last season, the tackles - Barnes and Pashos - always stayed the same. But neither tackle was consistent.

"Last year we were down numbers, but we're never going to be in that situation again because I think overall, the big picture is we want the best starters," Pashos said. "We're going to try to make it as competitive as possible."

That goal appears to have been reached, although it might be a little too early to make a definitive statement.

Monroe and Britton arrived in Jacksonville on Thursday, and the rookies spent a good portion of the night studying the playbook together preparing for Friday's workout. Britton played right guard on the second team Friday morning while Monroe manned the left tackle spot alongside left guard Dennis Norman. Jordan Black lined up at right tackle, but Britton also spent some time at tackle during individual drills.

The first-team line consisted of Pashos at right tackle and Maurice Williams at right guard along with Uche Nwaneri (filling in for Vince Manuwai, who was held out) at left guard and Thomas at left tackle.

"I had fun today," Monroe said. "I got a chance to get in and get some reps working with the twos ... got to watch Tra Thomas a little bit and learn from him. We're competing for that left tackle spot right now. Tra [is] with the ones right now."

The club wants to keep Monroe and Thomas in close proximity to one another.

The Jags assigned the No. 8 overall pick a locker right next to Thomas, a three-time Pro Bowler.

Thomas said the staff hasn't asked him to play mentor to Monroe, but it's not a position he's unwilling to assume.

"If you want to pay me to be a big brother, I have no problem with that," Thomas said, laughing. "I guess they [assigned Monroe's locker next to mine because they] want him to study me. I don't know. But right now, we're competing for a job."

Pashos also discussed the possibility of moving inside to guard. While the coaching staff hasn't discussed the move publicly or privately, there had been rumblings about the possibility of Pashos playing inside if Britton becomes the starter at right tackle.

If the JAGS could get all of their players out of jail at the same time,they could practice with the whole team and then they might improve. The only AMAZING thing about the jags is that can get enough players out of jail on sunday to play a game by 1 pm.